the skills reproduction security was present before they returned to the workplace. As there was not enough done to equip workers and skilling them in fields in which they could use elsewhere.
Thus, returning to PnP was the best option to maintain their finances.
there are sometimes where people would not have at home and in corporate, they would have these privilege. [Shanel, 19 August 2020]
This quote highlights that workers did not have the same privileges which in stores which they once enjoyed before taking VRP’s. facilities were limited in stores which promotes the idea that retail is now a place for ensuring profits.
4.7.3 Erosion of representation security:
There was very little discussion on trade unions when the worker went back into the same workplace, as Nonzi highlighted that:
No, the local stores do not have, aren’t unionized like the corporate stores. [Nonzi, 21 September 2020]
When doing further investigations into this statement and finding out why trade unions do not reach participants, Layla elaborates on this idea by stating:
I didn’t ask the people that work there if there are unions where people represent them when something did happen because I don’t know. [Layla, 8 October 2020]
This quote highlights that unionization was also not visible to these workers as some workers.
As the workers did not know about trade unions when going back into the store, 4.7.4 Erosion of employment security:
These workers knew what working conditions were like in the store before they took the package, and it became evident that they had not had pleasant experiences when going back into PnP. Thus, workers were still exploring and applying for other job opportunities as the retail conditions were not what they wanted to work in due to lack of security and working conditions which included working long hours, earning much less than when the worker was permanent and not receiving the privileges they once had when they started out at PnP.
I was there for 7 months on the other side of the creditors department, but on the other side of the butcheries – and end of June last year, the call us (a few ladies) and they said that they will not be extending our contracts anymore. [Kelly, 23 September 2020].
This highlights the instability of working in retail today, especially through an alternative form of employment. Kelly was working through a labour broker, and she was called in, in which
she was told she was no longer needed. The idea that these contracts run on a month-to-month basis, as we should not that Kelly did not work their for a year but 7 months, highlights how companies like PnP are able to save money on human capital. In the end, this is very unstable for the worker.
The quotes in the four sub-sections above illustrate the conditions workers faces after returning to the workplace. It is clear that the workers experience an erosion of the four industrial citizenship rights discussed previous sections/headings. As depicted through the worlds of work model, workers experience a loss of benefits and a change in their working conditions and employment status because of labour restructuring as the PnP was forced to retrench workers to ensure they maintained their market share. In other words, these workers were affected negatively by the MNC, Walmart’s entry into the South African market.
This section draws on workers experiences of not being employed directly through the company but instead being employed through third parties. It also identifies the reasons, workers returned to the organisation – that is, to maintain their nest egg and because they struggled to venture into businesses or find another job opportunity.
5 Conclusion:
This chapter detailed workers transition from casual to permanent employment and then much later from permanent to casual employment after taking the VRPs in 2017. It is evident that when workers initially started out as casual workers they had limited to no benefits. However, after eventually becoming permanent they gained access to benefits and privileges. Workers categorized PnP as a family run store that took care of their employees. The working conditions went beyond performing tasks in the workplace, and they would often do team building activities as well as family events outside of work hours. The chapter notes that workers chose the VRP because they felt as though they had achieved everything they could within the organisation. The VRP process was outlined, highlighting that PnP offered financial advisors to the workers to ensure that these workers could make better decisions with their finances.
However, workers finances would deplete, and they would worry about how they could sustain their finances and would apply for other jobs outside of retail but would be unsuccessful. Thus, workers approached their previous colleagues at PnP and to re-enter the same workplace through labour brokers or through franchises. Their working conditions were characterized by reduced pay and long and unusual working hours with no benefits or privileges. There was also
no visible sign of union representation and workers did not know if unions operated in their stores. Therefore, it is important to note that even though I use contract and casual work interchangeably, it both implies that a worker is employed by PnP without the benefits or entitlements which are afforded to permanent employees.
This chapter has shown that after taking the VRP’s and returning to the same workplace as casual workers they experienced a loss of industrial citizenship rights and precarious working conditions in the store. Although in this chapter there is a period in which workers are within the periphery, this level being when workers are unemployed right after they take the package and not having a stable income. This was not the focus of my master’s thesis. It is focusing on the transition of the worker from when they were permanently employed to taking the VRPs and returning to the same workplace. There are certain rights which have been eroded, this includes job security, work security, representation security, employment security and skills reproduction security. In the end when workers would often return due to not having acquired any skills outside retail, and their return would be categorised by lower wages, would not have any benefits or privileges, and work long hours. In other words, the shift from non-core to core and then from core to non-core employment status.
6 The future of retail and its workers
This chapter aims to explore and understand the workers transition from being a permanent employee to taking the VRP and returning to the same workplace as contract workers. In the transition from permanent to casual workers, one will note that the workers’ industrial citizenship rights were eroded and working conditions have worsened. This chapter aims to address the central research question: How have retail workers who took the voluntary retrenchment package (VRP) experienced the transition from being permanent employed to casually employed through labour brokers or franchises in the same workplace? Based on worker’s experience of the transition from core to non-core employment, I argue that workers were negatively affected after taking the VRP’s. I examine this transition by focusing on four sections to explain my argument. These are: (1) the workplace solidarity – which examines the changing nature of community in the workplace and the effect of flexible recruitment strategies on the relations between management and workers. This discussion extends to (2) examining worker’s belief that voluntary retrenchment was their choice and discusses their reasoning for leaving PnP. (3) Post-work life preparations in terms of how workers managed their finances and the factors that contributed workers decision to return to the same workplace. The final section discusses (4) precariousness in the workplace by focusing on the experiences of the transition, specifically the current working conditions for store workers after reentering the workplace.